What the Tide Brings

Chapter 17 - Liam - Rescue

Liam awoke with Kaelin's name escaping his lips. He didn't know why he said it. He vaguely remembered a moment from his dream where she called out to him, holding her arms out for him to grab, but she was slick with water and her hands slipped out of his; she fell off the side of a cliff into the crashing waves below.

Feeling uneasy, Liam threw the covers aside, getting out of bed. He pulled on the shorts he had worn earlier that day, as he slept in only his boxers. He tried to keep quiet as he crept into the hallway, but the door groaned loudly on its hinges and the floorboards creaked with every step he took. Thankfully, her room was just next door.

He rapped his knuckles softly against the door. There was no reply, so he dared to knock louder, and then louder still.

Still, no answer.

With anxiety building, in no way helped by that nightmare, he twisted the knob, pushing the door open a crack. He whispered her name, hoping to hear her melodious voice say something in that formal way of speaking that she had. That had bothered him at first, but now he found it endearing.

He opened the door wider, reaching in to flip the light switch on. The fear that struck him when he saw that her bed was empty was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

Moving quickly from room to room, Liam searched the whole house, with the exception of his mother's bedroom, knowing Kaelin wasn't likely to go in there so late.

In the kitchen, Liam looked up through the window over the sink. The sea lapped at the shore, the sound easily heard even from this distance. He wondered if she would have gone home. She promised that she wouldn't leave without telling him.

But what if she thought saying goodbye would be too difficult?

Liam went out to the back deck to scan the beach, hoping against hope that he was wrong. Something compelled him out onto the sand that shifted under his feet with each step closer to the surf.

About ten feet from where the waves crashed against the shore, Liam found Kaelin's nightgown in a heap. He knelt down to pick up the peach, cotton gown. He looked up and spotted something drifting in the waves. Her pale skin practically glowed against the dark water.

The gown slipped between Liam's fingers, and he sprung up, racing into the water. He galloped over the incoming waves to get to her. The wind whipped at his bare chest and swept his hair back and forth.

Without a second thought for his own safety, Liam dove through the waves that tried to push him back to shore, emerging only when he couldn't hold his breath any longer. His mouth was filled with the fishy, tangy taste of salt water as he dove in again, frantically trying to get to her, which seemed to be a task of Sisyphean proportion.

Finally, Liam caught hold of Kaelin's arm and reeled her in, pulling her close. He locked his arm around her chest and fought to get them both back to shore. The current had drawn her much further out than he realized. His work wasn't helped by the waves that once again hindered his rescue efforts, crashing over their heads, thrusting them under the water.

He took deep, gasping breaths whenever his head breached the surface. He hoped she wouldn't drown before he could get her to safety. He would not forgive himself if she died.

Once he made it back to the shallow water, Liam swept her up into his aching arms and ran the last few feet before collapsing to his knees on the sand. He laid her out in front of him, trying to recall his lifeguard training from two summers ago: tilt the head, lift the chin; open the mouth with one hand, close the nostrils with the other. He took a deep breath and exhaled into Kaelin's mouth. He waited the requisite two seconds before blowing again.